The co-chair of the state Democratic Party touted a power-sharing agreement in the Senate as a “way out of the dysfunction” that has previously dogged the chamber.

Stephanie Miner, the Syracuse mayor who was hand-picked by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to help head the state Democrats, said she believes the breakaway Independent Democratic Conference and the Senate Republicans deserve a chance to make their partnership work. The two conferences announced today that they have formed a coalition that will have equal authority over the Senate.

“There is obviously a place for partisanship, but as Democrats we believe the ultimately goal is to have government function for the people,” Miner said in a phone interview. “This is an arrangement in which senators determined they can make government function for the people of our state and I think it’s up to us to give them the opportunity to see if the arrangement can work.”

She continued: “I think there are lots of different ways to accomplish the goals Democrats ran on.”

Miner, who co-chairs the party along with Assemblyman Keith Wright, said her support of a coalition government shouldn’t be seen as a rebuke of the main Senate Democratic conference, which gained seats on Election Day but appears to be headed back to the minority.

“It’s not a rebuke. It’s instead a way of saying this is a way out of dysfunction,” Miner said. “This is a way to move forward. And ultimately as Democrats, that’s what we believe in: making government functions, making sure that it works for the most people and making sure that we have a chance to articulate, defend and move progressive policies forward.”